Irvine a top 10 city

No. 1 for talent pool, No. 4 for economic potential and No. 6 for business friendliness for cities with 100,000-250,000 population on Financial Times' Foreign Direct Investment Magazine's "American Cities of the Future" list.

2010

Selected as one of the 100 best communities for young people by America's Promise Alliance for helping young people overcome challenges to succeed.

No. 1 city in California on Money Magazine's July 2010 list of best places to live in America based on housing, finances and quality of life.

One of 15 cities nationwide who received the U.S. Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award recognizing the Irvine Police Department for support of city employees in Armed Forces reserve and National Guard units.

No. 5 best city for business start-ups, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

2009

Multiple "Smarter City" national rankings by the Natural Resources Defense Council: No. 4 for recycling, No. 5 for standard of living, No. 6 for green building and No. 7 for transportation.

2008

One of the best cities to live in during a recession, according to BusinessWeek.com.

No. 4 most romantic city based on the number of books Irvine residents buy on romance, relationships and sex, according to Amazon.com. In 1999, then-mayor Christina Shea cheekily suggested forming a romance committee to improve Irvine's standing in the eyes of lovers after the Ladies' Home Journal named Irvine the fourth best city for women but ranked the city low on romance.

VOICES FROM THOSE IN CHARGE

"It is really three things working together all the time. The first is that the Irvine Police Department is full of very talented, hardworking people. Second is that our city leadership makes public safety a top priority in this city. The third thing and equally important is that we have an engaged community that wants to keep its city safe." – Dave Maggard, Police Chief

"It was more tongue-in-cheek. It was sort of funny, but it ended up being a very interesting study in trying to locate areas in the city that we could consider romantic and how do you define romantic." – Christina Shea, Councilwoman on the city's informal romance committee created in 1999

Irvine has been ranked America's No. 1 safest city with a population of more than 100,000, according to FBI statistics on violent crime. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Andrew Pham, a fifth grader at Plaza Vista School, jots down questions for a Google hangout with the Santa Clara University solar decathlon team. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Sara Park, center, of Tustin, dances with the Yumi Dance Group from Garden Grove at the 2012 Irvine Korean Cultural Festival. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
With the Great Park Balloon as a backdrop, Jadin Griffin, from left, Cash Port and Arianna Duenez, all 5, play together after making friends at the park in Irvine last May. MINDY SCHAUER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Bill Waldo, Vantages CEO on left, and Don Kasle, Tech Coast Angels board member, enjoy a business lunch at Bistango. The Irvine restaurant was recommended as the best place for doing business over 80 other restaurants by business owners. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Muslim men perform Eid ul-Fitr prayers at the Islamic Center of Irvine for the end of Ramadan. ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
In 2008, Amazon.com named Irvine the fourth most romantic city in the nation. A couple share a kiss during Allen Stone's opening set for the Dave Matthews Band Saturday at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in September 2012. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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